Improvement in lanterns



S. H. MILLER.

LANTERN.

No.18Z,46Z.' Patented Sept.19,1876.

N.PETERS. PHGTWLIFHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. B C.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

sAM HOUSTON MILLER, OE BROOKLYN, NEw YORK, ASSIGNOR TO JEssE E. FOLK, 0F SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT m LANTERNSQ Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 182,462, dated September 19, 1876; application filed June 23, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAM HOUSTON MILLER, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Lanterns, of which the following is a specification:

This invention relates to that variety of lanterns in which the stem or shaft of the wick-raising device extends laterally through the side of the lantern in such manner that the height of the wick may be adjusted to regulate the flame without opening the lantern or otherwise providing access to the interior thereof; and the object of this invention is to enable such stem or shaft of the wick-raiser to be thus extended through the side ofthe lantern, without weakening the upper annular portion of the base, into which the lower end of the glass portion or body of the lantern is inserted and attached with a turning axial movement.

To this end my invention comprises a glass lantern-body, the circular or cylindric lower end of which is recessed at one side in such manner that when said glass body is attached to the base it will permit the said stem or shaft of the wick-operating device to pass outward and through such recess, and thereby permit the direct attachment of the glass body to the annular portion of the base of the lantern without involving the necessity of cutting or recessing said upper annular port-ion of the base, thereby preventing the weakening of such portion and insuring a much firmer retention of the glassbody than would otherwise be possible.

The invention further comprises an axial pin or stud provided in the base of the lantern, and insuch relation with the bottom of the oil-cup contained in said base that, when the cup is necessarily rotated by the turning of the glass body in the attachment of the latter to the base, the frictional contact of the circumference of the cup with the sides of the base is prevented, and all. hinderance to the turning of the glass body in its proper attachment to the base is prevented.

Figure l is a central vertical section of a' lantern made according to my invention, showing the parts connected for use. Fig. 2

is a side view of the same, taken in a plane at right angles to Fig. 1, and representing the metallic base disconnected from the glass body of the lantern, the better to show the peculiar construction of the said glass body.

A is the glass body, the narrowed circular upper-end of which is screwed or otherwise secured in the metallic cap or top B of the lantern, to which top may be attached the usual bale G. D is the metallic base, within which is placed the oil-cup E, surmounted by the usual burner F, the shaft or stem a of which actuates in the ordinary way the wick-raising device of said burner, said stem a projecting laterally outward to the exterior of the lantern, in order that it may be externally turned to raise or lower the wick, as hereinafter more fully explained.

The upper annular part b of the base D is formed with an internal screw-thread. The narrowed lower end of the glass body A being of circular form, and also provided with a screw-thread coincident in'pitch with that of the part b, the said lower end of the glass body may be readily screwed into the justmentioned annular upper part of the base D, and be thereby firmly fixed thereto when the lantern is in actual use, this mode of attachment moreover permitting the ready detachment of the body from the base, when for any reason access is desired to the interior of the lantern, as, for example, in the filling of the oil-cup or trimming of the wick. In one side of the circular or cylindric lower end aforesaid of the glass body A is formed a notch or recess, f. In the attachment of the body A V to the base, as hereinbefore explained, this recess f is brought over the stem a, and, as the body is brought downward, the stem passes of course into the said recess. The body A then being turned around to screw its lower part into the upper part of the base D, the aforesaid recess f permits the downward insertion'of the lower end of the bodyA as the latter 1 is turned or screwed around.

The stem a, together with the burner and oil-cup, is of course rotated with the body A, this rotation of the oil-cup, &c., being necessary to prevent the stem from interfering with the turning movement of the body. The stem a, when the body A is brought down to its place, is above the annular upper part b of the base D, and the latter, being continuous throughout its entire circumference, is enabled to bind and firmly hold upon the lower end of the body A, thereby securing the fixed i f, in combination with the continuous base-D, whereby provision is made for the attachment rigid attachment of the said body-to thebase, which would not be possible if the part b of the base were recessed, inasmuch as such recessing of the part b would destroy its continuity, and cause it to spring from and release the body A in case of any wrenching or sudden strain tending to separate the body from the base. Projecting upward from the center of the bottom of the base D is a short stud or pin, 9, as represented in Fig. 1. This fits into a small step, n, formed in the center of the bottom of the oil-cup E. When; the oil-cup is rotated in the attachment of the body A to the base B, as hereinbefore exaround which the cup E is turned Without contact with the sides or inner circumference of the base D, any friction between the sides of the cup E and the sides of the base D,

which otherwisewould be, likely to interfere with the free rotation of the cup during the attachment of the body to the base, being by this means efiectually avoided.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. The body A, constructed with the recess of the body A to the base D without cutting or recessing the upper annular portion of the base, or otherwise breaking the continuity and strength of the aforesaid upper part of the base, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, wi-th-the-stem a and recessed lower end of the body A attached to the base D, by a turning or axial movement, of the pin or projection g in the bottom of the base D and the step at in the bottom of the L oil-cup E, all substantiall yas and for the pur- 1 pose herein set forth. plained, the pin 9 forms, as it were, a pivot,

S. H. MILLER,

Witnesses:

H. WELLs, J r., EDWARD HOLLY. 

